Tag Archives: happy holidays

November 19, 2021 · 5:48 am

My Christmas Tree Is Up And My Christmas Shopping Is (Mostly) Done!

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The holidays are fast approaching. Chances are you’ve already heard Christmas music on the radio. You probably started Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” the day after Halloween. Some people whine about it, claiming Christmas festivities are popping up way too early. They’ll even go so far as to say it undermines the season.

I say to hell with those people. I love it! I love that Christmas decorations start going up as soon as the calendar turns to November. I’ve always loved the festivities and aesthetics of Christmas. Talk to anyone in my family. They’ll tell you the same thing. I love Christmas and I always go the extra mile to make it more awesome.

As such, it should surprise absolutely nobody that I already have my Christmas tree up and decorated. Actually, I’ve had it up for a couple weeks now. I put it up the day after Halloween. I’m sure there’s a healthy debate to be had about when the appropriate time is to put up your Christmas decorations. I would not do well in that debate. I’d get a bit too passionate about my right to put up a Christmas tree on Halloween.

So, rather than debate the merits of having your tree up this early, I thought I’d just take a moment to acknowledge that I take Christmas more seriously than most. I’m the kind of guy who will always want to have his tree up the day after Halloween. If I ever meet that special someone, I’d want them to be part of that tradition, as well.

In addition, I’d also like to acknowledge that this year presents some unique challenges for the holidays. I know that’s a relative statement, given how crazy last year was. Even I had to adapt. I still had all my decorations up early, but my family had to modify their usual holiday activities to work around the pandemic. We still made the most of it. This year, we hope to have some more traditional festivities.

There will still be challenges. There are currently some ongoing issues with respect to supply chains and retail. That’s why I encouraged everyone to do their holiday shopping ASAP. I’ll even belabor that for good measure.

Do your shopping early.

Get your Christmas lists completed now.

You’ll save your Christmas spirit plenty of strain in the long run.

To that end, I’d also like to state that I’m not just blowing smoke. I really practice what I preach here. As of a few days ago, I’ve pretty much completed all my Christmas shopping. Now, I say “pretty much” because I don’t shop for Christmas presents like a normal person. Like I said, I go overboard and I’m proud of it.

My standard practice is that I make a list of all my family members. I then ask them if there’s something specific they want me to get them. Most don’t respond, but those that do get priority. For those that don’t, I try to guess as best I can to get them something they would like. I try to make it personal and sentimental. Some of the gifts I bought years ago still get used today. Those are the gifts I love giving.

However, I rarely stop at one gift. I’ve often been inclined to buy two for each person, often as a hedge in case something I get them doesn’t land. It’s the on time of year when I’m not that frugal with my money. I really make an effort to go the extra mile for the people I love.

Part of that is always being on the lookout for more and better gifts. Even when I’ve got my shopping done, I’ll occasionally go to a mall and just browse. If I ever see something that would just be too perfect, I get it. Every year, it seems, I find something unexpected that makes for a great gift.

So, even though my shopping is done on paper, I’m still on the lookout for other awesome gifts. I don’t know if I’ll come across any. I certainly hope I do. It’s been a rough year and the holidays are the best possible time to make it better. Even if you’re not a big Christmas person like I am, I encourage you to make the effort.

It’s not too late. If anything, the time is perfect to make the holidays this year even more festive.

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November 12, 2021 · 6:58 am

I’ve Officially Made Holiday Travel Plans This Year And I Encourage Others To Do The Same!

100 Personal Finance Tips for Holiday Travel - Credit Sesame

Last year sucked for everyone and everything. I know I’ve said that a lot over the past year, but it’s worth belaboring. The COVID-19 pandemic ruined a lot of things and it’s still doing so today. Even though we have vaccines and treatments, the disease is still raging, thanks largely to idiots who refuse to follow science.

However, I don’t want to bemoan that prolonged tragedy.

I want to be a bit more positive this time around. After all, the holidays are upon us. We should try to be more positive, if only to get into the spirit. We have even more incentive than usual. Unlike last year, we’re more able to travel and enjoy traditional holiday activities. If you were stuck at home last year for the holidays and had to change your traditions, that’s a big deal.

To that end, I’m happy to say that I’ve actually finalized some holiday travel plans this year. They’re actually a bit bolder than what I usually do for the holidays. For both Christmas and Thanksgiving, I usually visit family and we usually have a large family gathering to celebrate the season. We couldn’t do that last year and it was rough. The holidays just didn’t feel the same.

This year, however, we’re trying to make up for it. We’re planning a big Thanksgiving gathering that will bring together family we haven’t seen outside a computer screen in nearly three years. That gathering will require more travel than usual. For me, that involves getting on a plane for the first time since before the pandemic.

Now, I’m not usually a fan of flying. It’s not the flight itself that bothers me. It’s navigating the airport that I find so frustrating. However, after last year, I’ll gladly endure it to be part of this gathering.

I also encourage others to do the same. Even if you’re not a fan of air travel or long car rides, make the effort to get away for the holidays. Visit family and interact with them in ways you just can’t match through a computer screen. Get out there and make the most of the holidays.

After last year, we all need it.

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November 8, 2021 · 5:49 am

Attention All Holiday Shoppers: Do Your Shopping EARLY This Year!

11 Best Christmas Shopping Tips - How to Do Holidays on a Budget

I love Christmas.

I love the holidays.

It has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you the same. I take Christmas very seriously. I go out of my way to buy extra gifts and I often spend way more than I intend. However, I gladly pay that price because that’s how much I love the holidays.

Last year was a real challenge for obvious reasons. This year promises to be a bit more traditional and we should welcome that.

However, this year brings with it some new challenges, especially for those who just love waiting until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping. We all know people like that. You yourself might be like that. I understand that not everyone is inclined to be that proactive. There’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t think less of anyone who has a procrastination problem around the holidays.

That being said, you should make an exception this year. If ever there was a year in which you got your shopping done early, make it this one. The ongoing supply chain issues that we’ve all heard about will have an impact, regardless of whether you do your shopping online or go to a store.

This is not speculation.

This is a warning.

If you want to make sure you get all the gifts you hope to give, either for yourself or your loved ones, do your shopping now.

Don’t wait until Thanksgiving.

Don’t wait until the first week of December.

Do it now.

You family will thank you and your holiday experience will be less stressful overall.

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January 1, 2021 · 8:52 am

Happy New Year 2021!

Happy New Year, everyone!

We did it. We made it through 2020. A new year is now upon us.

Usually, New Year is just a formality. However, this time is different. I’ve already highlighted why. I don’t want to belabor it again. Most of us with news feeds already know why 2020 sucked so much.

Instead of harping on how rough the previous year was, I just want to look ahead to 2021. It’s definitely going to be a year of rebuilding. We have a long road ahead of us, but we definitely have the tools to make 2021 much better than 2020. The bar for improvement is very low, but let’s not settle for less.

Today, let’s all just take a step back, take a deep breath, and take some satisfaction in that we made it this far. Quite a few poor souls weren’t as lucky. Let’s acknowledge and honor those who didn’t make it by making 2021 the best year it can possibly be.

Again, the bar is very low. Let’s still put in the extra work. If every there was a year to overcompensate, it’s this one.

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December 31, 2020 · 9:30 am

New Years Eve: Just One More Day Of 2020!

It’s almost over, everbody.

The final day of 2020 is upon us.

In any other year, we would use this as an opportunity to wish everyone a happy New Year and to share our New Years plans. This is not just any other year. This is 2020 and it has been historically hellish for reasons that would take too long to list. Now, it’s almost over.

We’ve made it this far. We’ve endured horrible story after horrible story. We navigated times in which time seemed to slow to a crawl. For some, it’s been a special kind of terrible. Let’s at least acknowledge that doctors and front line health care workers have had it the worst.

Now, I know the end of 2020 doesn’t mean an automatic end to everything that made it so awful. There’s still work to be done. We’re still a long way from anything resembling a better world.

If nothing else, 2020 has set the bar so laughably low for improvement that 2021 has no excuses for being at least slightly better. As jaded and broken as I’ve become over this past year, I’m choosing to be hopeful. I really want to believe that 2021 will be a better year. The effort to make it better starts tomorrow.

For now, let’s just get through this last day. We’ve almost made it, people! Just hang in there a little bit longer.

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December 26, 2020 · 9:08 am

My Day After Christmas Traditions (That I Encourage Everyone To Try)

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Christmas. I certainly did. After a year as bad as 2020, a nice Christmas with friends and family is just what I needed.

Now, it’s over. I know kids and adults alike often grapple with a mix of emotions once it’s over. In fact, I’d wager that December 26th is almost everyone’s least favorite day of the year, if only because it marks the longest wait until next Christmas.

As someone who loves Christmas more than most, I understand that. However, in recent years, I’ve found a way to make the day after Christmas uniquely enjoyable and I’d like to share it.

It used to be the day after Christmas was just a fog. We were all still buzzing from getting our presents and dining on so many Christmas cookies. It was always bittersweet and a bit jarring. Then, a few years ago, I uncovered a way to make it something worth looking forward to.

It starts with a good, hardy breakfast. When I began, I did it on my own. First, I would sleep in. I got up at least an hour later than I usually do. Then, I make myself a big breakfast, usually including bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

I don’t hold back. I make it extra big. The diet I usually maintain over the course of the year goes out the window, at least for one more day. I also drink only decaf coffee for reasons that will become obvious in a moment.

In more recent years, I’ve gone out for breakfast at a nearby diner. I often went with some siblings or relatives who were still in town. I know that may not be possible this year, but it achieved the same result. I enjoyed a big, hardy breakfast to start my day.

Once I finish that big breakfast, my day gets a lot slower. I make it a point to set everything aside, be it work, a certain chore, or a project I’d been working on. I take one day to just table everything so I can just take a step back, take a deep breath, and decompress.

It’s even more therapeutic than it sounds. Oftentimes, I’ll use this day to just sit on the couch, catch up on movies and shows, and basically do as little as possible. It’s a day in which all the work I did over the past year comes into perspective. It also helps clear my head for the year to come.

After a year like this, I think everyone needs a day like that. Given how eventful Christmas Day can be, I think it’s only fitting that we use the day after to balance things out. For one day, we don’t get overly active or push ourselves. We don’t obsess over how much we have or want to get done for that day.

Instead, we just use that day to catch our collective breath. However you do it, make the effort. One year, I took a long bath while comedy specials played on my iPad. It was magical. If you have something like that you can do today, I highly recommend it.

We all need this.

We all have to take a step back, take a deep breath, and just let our bodies catch up to our minds.

There will be plenty of busy days to come. For a day like today, let’s just make an exception.

I hope this advice helps all those who take it.

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December 25, 2020 · 7:28 am

Merry Christmas And A Special Message (of Hope) for 2020

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I know it’s 2020 and the holiday have been deeply affected by the overall awfulness of this past year, but it’s still here. It’s still something worth celebrating. So, in the name of sharing some special holiday cheer for such a uniquely awful year, I made this video to boost everyone’s spirit on this very special day. Enjoy!

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December 24, 2020 · 9:48 am

Christmas Eve: Sentiments And Reflections

It’s Christmas Eve.

All the holiday planning and preparation is about to come together, as it does every year on one glorious day.

When the year began, we probably had a good idea of how Christmas was going to look this year. We probably had a general idea of how the year would look in general.

Then, a once-in-a-generation pandemic struck and all those ideas collapsed.

However, I don’t want to spend Christmas Eve lamenting on how bad this year has gone. I’ve already done plenty of that. Instead, I want offer some insight and hope.

Yes, Christmas this year is bound to be different, but the spirit and sentiments of the season aren’t completely muted. Even a pandemic can’t stop that.

Like so many other things this year, we just have to adapt. That may mean less travel, less parties, and even less presents for those who are enduring serious economic hardship. It’s sad and disappointing, but that doesn’t have to ruin Christmas. It just means we’ll have to do things differently.

For me, personally, that involves relying heavily on video chatting and Zoom meetings to connect with family. We can’t have the usual extended get-togethers, which often start on Christmas Eve and go on days after Christmas. It also means a less elaborate Christmas dinner.

At the same time, I’m not letting it dampen my holiday spirit. I’ve already made the effort to share that spirit from afar. Last week, I took many of the presents I’d previously wrapped and mailed them out to various family members who couldn’t travel. I ended up having to send multiple large boxes, which held up a long line at the UPS store.

To those people, I apologize. I promise it was for a good cause.

I already confirmed that many of those packages arrived. I intend to be with them via Zoom as they’re opened. I also intend to do the same while I open their presents. Granted, it’s not the same as being there with them, but it’s better than nothing. We’ll still be together in the ways that matter.

It’ll still be difficult. I know some relatives would much rather get together, join the family, and share in each others’ company for the holidays. It’s just not possible this year. I keep encouraging them to make up for it next year. However, we have to get through this one first. We can make that process easier by simply making the most of what we have now.

I encourage everyone to keep that perspective in mind as they celebrate the holidays. The world will heal. This pandemic will end. Those are hopes for tomorrow.

Today, it’s Christmas Eve.

Let’s cherish what we still have before we move forward with what lies ahead.

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December 22, 2020 · 5:51 am

Recounting A Special Christmas Gift (And What Made It So Special)

The holidays are a special time of year. Even in a year like this, we should appreciate that. If anything, a year like this should help us appreciate it even more. Even if we can’t have big Christmas parties or shop in crowded malls, the spirit of the season is something to cherish.

I certainly have a fondness for the holidays. I’ve made no secret of that. I think a year like this has inspired me to get more personal and share more holiday joy than usual. If it helps distract us from how awful 2020 has been, I’m happy to contribute.

To that end, I’d like to share a personal holiday memory that is near and dear to my heart. It’s also fairly recent, so I won’t rely on the kind of child-like excitement that comes with getting your first bike or video game console.

That being said, I still rank my first Super Nintendo as the greatest Christmas gift of all time, but that’s a story for another time.

This particular story happened just last year, long before we knew 2020 was going to crush our spirits. It involves a very special gift that I received from my brother. I’m not sure if he reads this site regularly, but he knows better than anyone why this gift was so special.

To set the stage, I need to explain some of my family’s holiday traditions. Ours aren’t that unique. Me, my siblings, and their significant others all gather at my parents’ house. We all bring our gifts, put them under the tree, and make opening them this big shared event. It’s simple, but it hits all the right holiday tones.

Traditionally, my family knows what to get me long before Christmas. They know me well and they know my tastes are simple. Get me some comic books, some superhero apparel, or something related to football and I’m a happy guy. I like to think I’m fairly easy to shop for.

That didn’t stop my brother from going the extra mile this year. As it just so happened, his was one of the last gifts I’d opened. At that point, I was already a happy guy, swimming in new comics and clothes. This last gift, however, caught me by surprise in a very personal way.

I still remember holding the seemingly innocuous box. It didn’t look like anything elaborate. For all I knew, it was another comic or Blu-Ray movie. I just casually opened it. That’s when I saw it.

It was a framed picture.

Specifically, it was a picture of my grandmother, who had passed away just a few years ago.

Seeing her again, even in a picture, hit me in a way I didn’t respect. Even though she had been gone for years at that point, seeing her again reminded me of how much I missed her. It was somewhat jarring, but in a good way.

I just remember taking the picture out, holding it up, and looking at it for a good long while. I might have disrupted the overall jolly spirit of the room, but I think they understood why.

My brother, along with the rest of my family, knew how close I was to my grandmother. They also knew how hard it was for her during her final years. I visited her regularly and I watched as her health declined. It wasn’t easy, to say the least.

It helped that this particular picture that my brother framed was taken shortly before she fell ill. She was still smiling, as lively as any woman in her 90s could be at that point. Seeing that look on her face, even if it was just in a picture, was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

I almost broke down, but I managed to keep it together. It helped that my older sister came over and hugged me. She knew how much my grandmother meant to me, as well. It was a powerful moment, but one that made both that gift and that Christmas extra special.

That picture my brother gave me still has a prominent place on my shelf. As I write this, it’s right behind me. It still brings me comfort to this day, seeing my grandmother in that picture. For that, I’ll always be grateful to her and to my brother for giving me such a special gift.

Bro, if you’re reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for making that Christmas special and for going the extra mile in giving me that gift. You’re the best!

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December 21, 2020 · 5:55 am

Why You Should Watch “The Christmas Chronicles” This Holiday Season

It’s that time of year.

It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year, indeed.

The holiday season is upon us. That means putting up Christmas decorations, shopping for Christmas gifts, and drinking whiskey-laden eggnog will no longer earn you strange looks. As someone who often puts his tree up before Thanksgiving, I greatly appreciate that. Believe me, I’m tired of people looking at me strangely when I tell them I have my tree up already.

In addition to the usual festivities, this is also that special time of year when Christmas specials of all kind start to air regularly. From classic Christmas episodes to Christmas movies, they’re starting to air more regularly. It’s hard to avoid them. Depending on the strength of your holiday spirit, they can help or hinder the season.

Now, I have a soft spot for holiday media of all kinds. However, I freely admit that not all holiday specials or movies are on the same level. I’ll always love “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” but most are just too forgettable. They’re still fun to watch, but they won’t leave much of an impact.

That’s why “The Christmas Chronicles” on Netflix is such a breath of fresh air. Seriously, if you’re in need of a newer, more modern Christmas movie that gives you all the right holiday feels, this movie is for you.

It stars Kurt Russell as Santa. He’s probably not the first person you’d think of in terms of actors who play the big guy, but after seeing this movie, you’ll be convinced. This man is worthy of that famous outfit.

It came out in 2018, but it’s already a classic in my book. I actually stumbled upon it by accident a couple years ago. I have this yearly ritual where I put on a holiday movie while I wrap Christmas presents for my family. I just happen to see this in my Netflix recommendations and clicked on it without thinking.

I’m glad I did. This movie quickly captured my heart and my holiday spirit. In case you need a sample, check out the trailer.

The premise of the movie is fairly standard for most holiday dramas. It starts with two kids, Kate and Teddy Pierce. They have many fond holiday memories with their parents. We see that early on. It’s very sweet and sentimental.

Then, tragedy strikes. Their father, who was a firefighter, tragically passed away and now they’re celebrating their first Christmas without him. It’s sad, but trust me. It doesn’t stay that way. Kate and Teddy are in a bad place when Christmas begins. However, things get fanciful and adventurous when they encounter Santa himself.

Kurt Russell’s inherent charm and charisma takes it from there.

What follows is a fun and eventful exploration of a world where real magic, real elves, and true holiday spectacles unfold at every turn. It’s a story about two young kids coming to grips with the loss of their father and carrying on his legacy. There’s heart, family, and flying reindeer. If that’s not enough Christmas for you, then you’re just being difficult.

I won’t spoil the rest of the details. I’ll just say that this movie has already become an integral part of my personal Christmas traditions. It’s a movie I cannot recommend it enough for those whose spirit needs a boost. After a year like 2020, we all need that. It can only help us as we celebrate the holidays and gear up for 2021.

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